A little assistance
by Emma-face
Summary: This is essentialy GSR but with the help of Catherine...it's kind of funny, kind of post epish starts with Burden of Proof
1. Burden of Proof

"You're an ass!" The blonde woman at the door pushed her way through into the apartment.

"Good morning Catherine, it's nice to see you too." Grissom scowled as he shut the door.

"Good morning!" She said snidely. "And you're still an ass!" She removed her jacket and placed it over the back of a chair. Grissom looked at her, clueless as to what he had done. She sighed heavily.

"The lab needs you here? The lab needs you here!" She was starting to get really worked up now, her hands were moving all over the place gesturing while she talked. Grissom looked at her blankly, knowing now what she was talking about he knew it would be in his best interest to wait until she was finished ranting before he tried to defend himself; not that he could.

"Gil, one of the best criminalists to walk through the doors of the lab threatens to leave and the best you can come up with to make her stay is, the lab needs you here? My God you're dense! Even putting aside your feelings for her, even as a supervisor could you not have come up with something better?" He looked up at her remorsefully.

"What was I supposed to say Catherine? She surprised me with it...I didn't know what to say; you know how I am with situations like this." He attempted to defend himself.

"I know how you are with people. But Gil this is Sara we're talking about, how are you going to let her just walk away." Her tone was less angry now, she was calming down.

"I don't know!" He snapped back. He sighed. "I don't know. I don't want her to go, I just don't know what to do." She shook her head.

"You really are hopeless." She laughed slightly. He scowled again.

"Thanks that was very helpful."

"You have to fix this Gil, she's leaving because of your insensitivity that means it's up to you to get her to stay. You just have to lift your head up out of that microscope every once in a while, and soon...because if you don't the next time you look up she might not be there." Catherine sighed and looked him in the eyes, trying to see if her words had registered. He nodded slowly and she saw an idea come to him; she smiled knowing her words had not fallen on deaf ears and hoping that this would mean the start of a better time for the two.

He moved to the kitchen and looked for something in a drawer. Taking out a little black book of phone numbers, he flicked through the pages until he found the one he was looking for, then picked up the phone and dialled. Catherine looked over the back of the couch into the kitchen at him as he fumbled around awkwardly and smiled.

"Yeah, hi. I-I-I'd like to get some flowers for a girl. No, no. Not flowers, a plant, a living plant – she likes vegetation. Yeah, that'd be fine. To a Sara Sidle." He gave instructions on where to send the plant. Catherine smiled proudly.

"Atta boy!" She muttered to herself.

"The sentiment? Have it say... Have it say, from Grissom." He sighed and hung up the phone, hoping that this small effort could persuade her to stay.

-

Sara sat in the locker room with the plant sitting on the bench in front of her, studying it. It was a plant, it was pretty, it was thoughtful, it was from Grissom, but what did it mean. Did he really think that this plant would be enough to make her forget about everything else and stay? Who was she kidding, it was Grissom, and did he ever think anything through like a normal human being? She stared at the plant again, confusion written on her face as she tried in vain to figure it out.

"Hey." Catherine greeted her as she entered the locker room.

"Hey." Sara replied, sounding distracted.

"What's that?" Catherine nodded towards the plant sitting on the bench.

"It's...a plant." Sara shrugged. She was giving up. Catherine shut her locker door and sat down on the bench beside Sara, on the other side of the plant. She looked down awkwardly, knowing she probably shouldn't be saying what she was about to say, knowing that what she was about to say probably wasn't going to go down very well, but still she couldn't help herself.

"I uh... I heard about what happened...between you and Grissom." Sara looked down at the floor and pursed her lips together. "Look I know it's not my place and you probably don't want to hear this from me but Sara, don't leave. I know Grissom can be an ass, and look I don't know what happened between you two in the past, but I do know he has feelings for you. It's just he's been burned so badly in the past he just doesn't know how to act around people anymore. But...he's trying." Catherine looked down at the plant he had sent her. I was cute in a quirky sort of way, she knew Sara would appreciate it. Sara looked up at Catherine.

"Thanks." She forced a little half smile. Catherine smiled back and shrugged. "Why are you doing this?" Sara asked, curious because she had always thought the older CSI had seen her as a threat.

"You're too good to lose." She shrugged. "And I like having another woman around her to work with in this testosterone pool. And I don't want to see you hurt your career because Grissom can't get his head together. And because I think you make him happy, and we both know he could use a little bit more of that in his life." Catherine smiled, lifted her bag and walked towards the door.

"Thanks!" Sara smiled at her as she left. With a sigh she turned back and faced the plant again, this time with a smile on her face. She picked it up, grabbed her bag from her locker and left as well.

-

"I got your plant." Sara opened and stepped inside the door of Grissom's office closing it behind her. Grissom looked up from the mountain of paperwork on his desk at Sara.

"I uh...I hope you liked it." He stammered slightly, looking over his glasses at her.

"It was lovely. Thank you." She said sincerely making her way towards his desk and sitting down in a chair facing him. He smiled at her, almost boyishly.

"This doesn't fix things though, there's still a problem here and a plant can't make that go away." She looked him right in the eye as she spoke. He frowned, looking sad and remorseful.

"I see." He muttered so quietly she could barely hear him.

"But..." She smiled. "It is a start." He lifted his head immediately, his blue eyes looked hopeful.

"Does that mean...you're staying?"

"Yes...but there'll have to be some changes Grissom. If things just go back to the way they were I will leave." She warned him but still she smiled.

"That's great!" He grinned back at her. With a nod Sara stood and excused herself.

"I have to get back to work." She smiled.

"Of course. I'll see you later." He said as she walked out the door and down the hall. Grissom picked his phone up from the desk and flipped it open. Opening a new screen he typed a new message.

_'She's staying!' _

Send to Catherine Willows. He flipped the phone closed and smiled again to himself.

-

_1 new message._

Catherine was at home lying in bed on her day off when she got the message. Rolling over she picked up her phone and pressed the button to read the message. She smiled when she read it.

"Way to go Gil." She mutter before rolling back over and going back to sleep.


	2. Play with fire

"How could I have been so stupid?!" Sara slammed her hand against her locker, scolding herself for thinking Grissom would actually agree to go on a date with her.

"Jeez, what did the locker ever do to you?" Catherine's said drily from behind her. Sara just turned around and stared at her with an angry, don't-mess-with-me look on her face.

"What's up?" Catherine asked her, opening her locker and rummaging inside. Sara sat down on the bench and sighed.

"Nothing. I just did something incredibly stupid and I guess I'm...mad at myself for doing it." She laughed slightly. Catherine took a deep breath.

"What did you do?" She asked curiously, looking back over her shoulder at the brunette on the bench.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter." Sara shrugged, blushing slightly.

"This has something to do with Gil, doesn't it?" Catherine asked knowledgably. Sara looked up at her confused.

"What...How did you...?"

"Please, give me some credit. You two have been dancing around each other ever since you got here, I just passed him in the hallway with the grumpiest face I've ever seen on him and you're in here busting up lockers, putting two and two together you get – something happened between you guys." Catherine explained, shutting her locker and turning to face Sara. Sara looked back at her speechless.

"So come on..." Catherine waited impatiently for Sara to tell her what happened.

"I...asked Grissom to have dinner with me and he said no." Sara shook her head and looked down at the floor. "Stupid." She muttered. Catherine's face fell and she looked at Sara sympathetically.

"Oh." She said, because she wasn't sure what else to say.

"I just thought, why not? Why not take the risk? After the lab exploded and he was so concerned for me I just thought...I guess I just thought he would say yes." She gave another small chuckle then sighed.

"He didn't?" Catherine grimaced. Sara shook her head.

"He said he didn't know what to do about us." Sara said bitterly. "And I told him that I did, and by the time he figures it out it might be too late." She sighed. Catherine was somewhat impressed, firstly because Sara had had the guts to ask him to dinner, but also because she'd taken a stand and told him she wasn't going to wait around for him.

"Aww honey. Come on I'll buy you breakfast and we can talk about it." Catherine gestured towards the door with her head. Sara nodded and silently accepted her offer.

-

Grissom sat on a bed hidden behind a curtain in a desolate hospital ward looking thoroughly miserable. The sound of curtain hooks grinding on metal announced Catherine's arrival through the curtain.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked in a voice only a mother has.

"Fine. The uh surgery was a success." He stared off into the distance solemnly.

"Really? Because you look thrilled." Catherine said sarcastically. He looked blankly back at her.

"Yeah, can I go home now?" He asked not really listening to what she was saying. She sighed.

"Yes, you just have to sign some forms and then you can go home. I'll give you a ride." She waited for him to fill in the appropriate paperwork and showed him to her car. He was silent the whole time he was in the car and he still looked miserable.

"So what is it then?" She asked frankly. She had a fair idea of what was bothering him; the same thing that was bothering Sara more than likely.

"What's what?" He asked, in true Grissom manner he was confused.

"What's bothering you?" He didn't answer; he just huffed and looked out the window away from her.

"It's Sara isn't it?" She sighed with frustration; it's hard to help someone when they won't talk to you. Now he looked even more confused as he tried to figure out how Catherine knew what he was thinking.

"I've really blown it this time, haven't I?" He sighed. She shrugged, not wanting to lie to him. "I'm such an idiot." He scolded himself. Inside Catherine wanted to laugh at how alike the two really were but she knew this wasn't the time.

"So why did you do it?" She had to know.

"I don't know I was scared. I mean I've been losing my hearing; I had just made the appointment for my surgery, I nearly lost her in the lab explosion and then she just comes right out and asks me out to dinner. I was scared! And stupid." He sighed. Catherine sat down on the bed beside him.

"I guess I was just afraid that if the surgery didn't work that she wouldn't want to be stuck with a deaf old man and she would leave me. I don't think I could handle that Catherine." He frowned and for the first time Catherine understood why he acted the way he did with Sara. She felt truly sorry for him.

"But the surgery was successful..." She pointed out, wanting to see what his next move would be.

"Yeah." He said vacantly, not really feeling up to sharing anymore. Picking up on this Catherine offered to take him home and he accepted.

-

"So, exactly how long are you planning on avoiding Sara for?" Catherine asked as she entered Grissom's office without as much as a hint of a knock. He looked up from his paperwork and scowled at her.

"I'm not avoiding Sara!" He said defensively, knowing he was lying. She raised her eyebrow at him as though asking, who are you trying to kid?

"Oh really? Because ever since you've been back you've paired her up with everyone else and avoided her like the plague." She stood before him, her cross armed stance telling him she meant business.

"No I haven't." He continued to lie.

"Look Gill, I know you feel uncomfortable around her since she asked you to dinner, but you weren't the only one affected by your rejection of the offer, remember that!" She said pointedly before leaving to get back to work. Grissom tried to go back to his paperwork but he kept thinking about what Catherine had said. He wasn't the only one in an awkward position. He resolved to at least try to make things better.

The next day during assignments Grissom purposely teamed himself up with Sara. She didn't look happy to be working with him, like she used to, that hurt a little but he knew he deserved it. He was still determined to fix things; he even let her drive to the scene. Their DB was located out in the woods; the body had been discovered by a hiker and had more than likely been there for a few days.

"Oh look, some of your friends!" Sara smirked when she noticed the abundant insect life on the victim. He gave a small laugh happy that at least she was making jokes with him.

There wasn't much evidence in the area surrounding the body so it looked like the bugs were going to be their best lead. They could use them to work out a timeline and go from there. They had the scene processed within two hours and headed back to the lab to run the evidence.

"I'll work the fibres and bring the swabs to trace..." Sara started as she and Grissom walked down the hallway of CSI.

"And I'll get started on the bugs..." Grissom continued.

"And we can meet up in autopsy." Sara ended the sentence as they neared the trace lab. Grissom nodded his agreement and they went their separate ways.

-

By pulling a little extra over time Grissom and Sara were able to chase a lead on the bullet taken from the victim's chest and closed in on a very likely suspect. They joined Brass in the interview room but since they didn't have enough to hold him so they had to let him go.

"We know it was him, his alibi is shaky at best, we just have to prove he did it." Grissom said to Sara as they walked away from the interview room.

"Yeah, but how do we do that?" Sara looked pensive as she deliberated the remaining evidence. Grissom looked at his watch then back at Sara.

"I don't know. Why don't we discuss it over breakfast?" He suggested, eyeing her hopefully.

"What?"

"We've been working non-stop since shift started and shift ended like an hour ago and, well, I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry..." He explained. "Let me take you out for breakfast...and we can discuss the case."

She looked him over as she considered his offer. Things between them had been kind of awkward since she asked him out and he'd been avoiding her lately, but today he had been nothing but nice to her and she was really starting to feel hungry.

"Alright." She shrugged.

"Alright then, let's go!" He led her towards the exit with a smile on his face.


	3. Butterflied

Grissom crawled along the hallway of Debbie Marlin's house testing the carpet for blood. He sprayed the test pad with phenol; it was negative. He sighed heavily, dismayed and discarded the pad. His back was aching from crawling along the floor, his eyes were stinging with tiredness and his knees were burning with pain but he refused to acknowledge these things; he had to focus, he had to find something, any shred of evidence. Taking another pad he moved forward and tested the next section of carpet. Negative.

"Don't tell me you never went home?" Catherine's voice interrupted his process. He looked up at her, his face screaming guilt.

"Okay. I just got started in here. Haven't even gotten to the other rooms yet." He informed her, hoping she would offer him some help instead of a lecture.

"You know, you lose your edge after sixteen hours. You're going into your third shift now. I mean I'm all for overtime, but this is just plain greedy." She said both chastising him and showing her concern for him at the same time.

"Have you eaten anything?" She questioned. The look on his face told her he hadn't.

"What'd you bring?" He asked hopefully.

"I'll see what's in the fridge." She shrugged and headed towards the kitchen waiting for him to follow her.

In the kitchen Grissom helped himself to a yogurt and some peanut butter, reminding Catherine that they would have to replace it. They sat at the table in silence as he ate.

"I know why you're doing this Gil!" She couldn't hold her tongue anymore.

"Doing what?" Grissom asked, taking a mouthful of peanut butter.

"This frantic searching, not going home, overkill on this case." She said exasperatedly. Grissom looked at her inquisitively as though he hadn't noticed.

"She really is the spitting image of Sara isn't she?" Catherine said thoughtfully. The resemblance had struck her too when she saw the body; it was scary. Grissom nodded solemnly, staring off into the distance.

"But she's not Sara!" Catherine said firmly, reaching out and touching Grissom's arm. "And you have got to come off this solo kick or you're going to burn out and you will be of no use to any of us." She cautioned him. He looked at her, then looked away again. He knew she was right; he just couldn't help it. Debbie looked so much like Sara, his Sara, that every time he thought about this case he thought about Sara and what would happen if she were gone. He couldn't take it.

"I know." He said quietly. Catherine took a deep breath, savouring the pride she was feeling at having gotten through to him.

"Maybe you should stop focusing so much on this dead girl who looks like Sara and pay a little more attention to the real thing." She advised.

"Now come on, let's get you home and you can have a shower and come back with fresh eyes." She said as she stood up and grabbed Grissom. Pulling him to his feet she ushered him to the door and made sure he got into his car.

-

Sara walked along the corridor in a slight daze. She had just finished comparing the toe print Catherine had lifted from the bed to both victims. She was still a little fazed by what she had seen on that morgue tray, that face, that girl; she looked just like her. There was something very unnerving about seeing your own face on an autopsy table. Turning in the doorway of the locker room she saw Catherine.

"Have you seen Grissom?" She asked the older CSI.

"He's still at the crime scene." Catherine informed her as she tied her shoes.

"I eliminated both victims from the print you pulled off the bed." She explained, seeming somewhat quiet or distant. Catherine's eyes widened slightly as she turned to face Sara.

"You uh...you seen Debbie?" Catherine asked, she didn't know how she would react if she saw such a strong resemblance to herself in a victim.

"Yeah." Sara replied, hoping she didn't seem bothered.

"And?" Catherine was looking for some kind of reaction.

"And I compared her toe prints." Catherine couldn't believe it.

"If I didn't know better I'd swear that was you on that table!" Catherine said in shock. Sara shrugged it off.

"I didn't really get a look at her face." She lied, and Catherine knew it. She looked at Sara her face full of concern.

"You know that's why Grissom hasn't left the scene yet don't you?" Sara looked lost for words and shook her head. Catherine rolled her eyes. I mean she knew Grissom turned her down and everything but really, was she that blind.

"Sara please it's so obvious! He can't let this go because she looks so much like you. That's why he wouldn't let you in the house either, so you wouldn't see her." Catherine couldn't believe this, she was being as dense as Grissom; they definitely deserved each other.

"It's not...he's not...she doesn't..." Sara stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Sara, in a weird way this proves how much he still feels for you" She spoke the frowning brunette who was standing before her glassy eyed as she welled up. "I know it's really weird and kind of creepy but...so is Grissom!" Catherine shook her hands in front of her. She still wasn't getting anything out of the younger woman.

"When you see Grissom, will you tell him?" She said quietly because she didn't know what else to say before she quickly turned in the door frame and hurried down the hall. Catherine watched her leave, wracked with concern. She sighed and dropped down onto the bench, rubbing her forehead.

-

"I couldn't do it, but you did." Grissom's revelation to the doctor shocked even Brass, who having known Gil for more years than they pretend to remember had never heard him open himself up like that before, let alone in front of a suspect.

Laurie turned and walked out of the room completely ignoring everything that Grissom had said. Brass followed them out thinking Grissom would do the same but he remained seated, staring off into space.

On the other side of the two-way mirror Sara stood stunned in the observation room. Grissom had basically just confessed his feelings for her, not to her or even a friend but to a murderer. In that moment she knew Catherine was right about his obsession with the case. In that moment she understood why he had rejected her offer of dinner. In that moment she knew that he would never sacrifice his work for her.

Behind her Catherine drew a breath and shook her head, not believing what she had just seen; Gil Grissom opening up to a killer. _'If only he could have said that to Sara, then we would maybe have a shot at fixing this mess.' _She thought to herself.

"Sara..." Catherine didn't know what to say to the younger woman, but she knew she had to say something. Sara held out her hand to silence Catherine, to tell her that she didn't need to say anything. She was stinging from the revelation. Without looking back or through the mirror again she silently walked out the door, down the hall and out of the building.

In the observation room Cath stepped up to the mirror and touched it. She looked in on Gil as he sat staring off into the distance, his shoulders dropped and his head hanging slightly he just looked so defeated. She sighed; even she wasn't sure how to deal with this one.

-

"So what is it, you can tell a killer that you have feelings for Sara but you can't tell her?" Catherine demanded. Grissom looked around him for an exit but Catherine had cornered him in the break room.

"I didn't tell Laurie I had feelings for Sara." He tried denying it.

"Not in that many words but you might as well have! Or have you fallen in love with any other young beautiful women that you can't let yourself be with lately that I just haven't found out about yet?" She pouted and rolled her eyes at him. She was annoyed. Grissom wondered how the hell she knew what he had said to Laurie, he severely doubted that Brass would tell her.

"Yes I heard and Sara heard it too." It was almost as if she had read his mind. His eyes widen and his mouth parted slightly at this information. That wasn't exactly how he had wanted her to find out he had feelings for her.

"So?" Catherine pressed.

"So...?" Grissom looked at her.

"So what are you going to do about it?" She shook her head; you would think he would have gotten how this works by now.

"What am I going to do?" He looked at her as though she was crazy. "Nothing!" He couldn't face her now, not after this. It had been bad enough after he rejected her but now...there was no way he was confronting her about this.

"Gil! You..." She protested.

"No! No Catherine." He snapped. It had been a long, difficult case and in the end the killer had walked right out the door without so much as a hint of remorse. He had worked around the clock, frantically searching for evidence and in the end it all went to waste. And on top of all that he still couldn't get the image of Sara lying dead in Debbie Marlin's bathroom out of his head. He was tired and not in the mood for this.

"Just stay out of it will you?" He stormed passed her and out of the break room, retreating to his office where he would hide for the rest of the shift. Catherine stood there in the break room, her mouth open in shock. She had never seen Gil get so upset over something like this. Well she had but he always got over it; and that's why she wasn't going to stay out of it.


	4. Nesting Dolls

Catherine's shift was over but instead of turning left when she came out of her office, walking out the front door and driving home she turned right and headed towards Grissom's office. When she reached the door she didn't bother knocking because she knew he wouldn't respond anyway, he would just stay quiet and hope she went away. He was sitting at his desk when she entered, looking at a book but not actually reading it. His mind was trying to organise and review everything that had happened that day; the book was merely a prop. He looked up at her, his face drawn and un-amused.

"If you've come here to berate me about Sara then you should just leave; I'm not going to fire her!" He said pointedly.

"Good! I don't want you to." She replied. Now Grissom looked confused.

"Oh." His expression softened a little. "Then why are you here?"

"Because we need to do something about Sara." She said frankly, her blue eyes widening as she spoke. Grissom looked even more confused.

"I already said I've taken my disciplinary action."

"I know!" Catherine said impatiently, fighting hard to restrain herself from yelling at him for being so clueless. "I mean we have to do something to help her, Gill she's slipping away again."

Grissom looked down with the same concerned expression he had worn all day. "I know."

"I mean after the DUI I thought she was getting better but then today she snapped again. It just seems like every time a case involving domestic violence comes up she flips. I know it's awful and no one likes working cases like that, but she goes over the top and I'm just...I'm just worried about her. If we don't do something soon I'm afraid we'll lose her" Catherine sighed wearily. Grissom inhaled deeply, those had been his exact fears too.

"I know Catherine, and I know why she gets that way. I'm just not sure how to help her." He explained quietly.

"You do?" She didn't mean to sound so surprised.

"Yeah, when I found out what happened I went to her house. I didn't push her after the DUI because I didn't want her to think I was judging her but today I was just...worried." He shook his head. "She is sorry, you know."

"Oh I don't care." Catherine waved it off. "Water off a ducks back, that's how women function in the work place sometimes." She gave a weak laugh. "But you...you talked to her?"

"Yes."

"And she opened up to you?"

"Yes. But I can't tell you what she said Catherine I won't betray her confidence." He said frankly anticipating the woman's next question would be asking him what was going on with Sara.

"Good I don't want you to tell me." She said just as frankly.

"You don't?" He blinked, stunned.

"No, if she wanted me to know she would have talked to me. If I ever need to know I know she'll tell me. Just don't fuck up Gil. She's finally opened up to someone, don't undo it all by pushing her away again." She cautioned him, knowing all too well her best friends routine with the young CSI. Pull her close then push her away again, ask her to move to Vegas then ignore her.

"I'm not going to." He said assuredly and she believed it; well she believed he was going to try.

"Good." She said with a nod before smiling at him and turning to leave.

"Goodnight Gil."

"Goodnight Catherine." He smiled back.

-

The graveyard shift had been over for an hour when here was a knock on Sara's apartment door. Getting up from the armchair in her living room, where she had been curled up reading a book, Sara moved to answer it. Standing on her doorstep was Gil Grissom waiting patiently with an almost bashful look on his face.

"Ready to go?" He asked. A week ago Sara would have been shocked and stunned to find Grissom at her door but this morning she had actually been expecting him. It was the last day of her suspension and she would be returning to work that evening, so they were having breakfast to celebrate. Actually he had been to her place for breakfast almost every day of her suspension and on the days he wasn't there he would call to make sure she was ok.

"Yeah." She smiled broadly, grabbing her purse from beside the door and stepping out into the hallway. She was grateful for everything he had done for her in the week. He was a better listener than some of the professional councillors she had seen and he never judged or tried to advise her either; he just listened.

"Great." He smiled back boyishly and led her to his car. They drove to a nearby dinner and ordered their individual breakfasts. The week had been great for them, allowing them to get back to the way they used to be, comfortable around each other. They had re-established the bonds of friendship that Grissom had feared he had broken beyond repair. Now sitting in the dinner the conversation flowed between them easily and was coupled with comfortable silences. It was just like when they had first met back in San Francisco and both of them were enjoying it. Things weren't getting romantic yet, they still had a lot of trust to rebuild first but things were definitely heading in the right direction and it made both of them incredibly happy.

After breakfast Grissom dropped Sara back off at her apartment and walked her to her door.

"Hey Grissom, thanks for everything you've done for me this week. You've been great. I couldn't have got through it without...mostly because I would have been fired." She gave a small laugh and he smiled at her.

"It was my pleasure." He said, amazed that he had been of any help. "I'll see you tonight." He smiled as she turned in the doorway to bid him farewell.

"Yeah, you will." She smiled that Sidle smile that still made him weak in the knees. When she waved him off and closed the door she realised she was still smiling, she felt good again.

-

Sara entered the locker room to get ready for her first shift beck after her suspension, upon entering she found Catherine rummaging around in her locker.

"Hey Catherine." She said a little timidly, unsure of the woman's feelings towards her after she had blown up on her in the hallway a week ago.

"Hey Sara." She replied cheerfully. Sara breathed a small sigh of relief. "How's it going?"

"Alright." Sara gave a small nod and took a deep breath. "Listen Cath, I just want to apologise for what I said last week. I was way out of line." She shook her head. Catherine turned from her locker to face Sara.

"Don't worry about it." Catherine smiled.

"And this...this is not because Ecklie told me to apologise or anything. I mean it I really am sorry. I shouldn't get so worked up over cases...I'm trying to work on it, really I am." Sara continued but Catherine cut her off.

"Sara, I know, don't worry." She smiled at the younger woman. "Sweetie, we're both passionate, highly driven and somewhat temperamental women; we're bound to knock heads every once in a while. That's just how woman work together." She smiled.

"You know Sara, if you ever need to talk or anything..."

"I know." They both looked at each other and smiled at the moment that had passed.

"I gotta get going here and pick Lindsey up from dance practise." Catherine said after noticing the time. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you. Tell Lindsey I said hi." Sara opened her locker and began gathering her things.

"I will...and good luck tonight." Catherine called as she walked out the door.


	5. Committed

Grissom drifted down the hallway of CSI like a ghost; numb from everything that had happened in the past 24 hours. He had dropped Sara off at her apartment before he returned to the lab, insisting she should get some rest after what she'd been through. Leaving her in her apartment alone was the hardest thing he had done that day, well next to helplessly watching Adam Trent hold Sara with that ceramic shard to her neck. He shook his head to rid himself of the visual reminder. He had come back to the lab alone to log the evidence and he was now technically off duty but he didn't know what to do with himself. 

Should he start processing the evidence now? If he started without Sara she might think he thought she would be incapable of finishing the case. Not to mention the fact that he was physically and mentally exhausted, so starting to process now might risk him missing something. He wouldn't start processing the evidence until next shift. But what would he do, go home? Going back to his empty townhouse wouldn't help. He wouldn't sleep, he'd just spend all night thinking about Sara and how close he came to losing her. He still couldn't believe it. 

Catherine saw him pass and ran to catch up with him. 

"Oh my God Gil how's Sara? Is she ok?" Catherine asked her voice frantic with concern. 

"She's fine, yeah. I dropped her home before I came back to the lab. She should get some rest." He said monotonously, clearly still shaken by the whole thing. Catherine breathed a small sigh of relief. 

"When I heard what happened and that the paramedics were called I just...I didn't know what to think." She shook her head. "But she's alright?" 

"Yeah. She's a survivor." He almost smiled. 

"Are _you_ alright?" She asked, stepping in front of him stopping him from walking on. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I wasn't held hostage with a blade." He tried to shrug it off but Catherine, being Catherine, saw right through it. She looked at him, her hand on her hip as she cocked her head to one side. It was a look and a stance that made any man talk and Catherine had practically invented it. 

"Gil." He sighed. 

"I...we came so close to losing her today Catherine." He shook his head, his eyes were weary and his forehead more creased than usual. "It was just...too close. What if I had lost her today Catherine? What if he'd taken that shard and sliced her neck? I wasted so much time being afraid of her...of...us and now I'm afraid that I'll never get to experience an us." He shook his head and touched his chin nervously. Catherine looked at him, for the first time in all the years she'd known him she didn't see Gil Grissom: scientist or Gil Grissom: loner or Gil Grissom: friend; she saw him at his weakest, all his defences worn away. She saw Gil Grissom: man. 

"Maybe I'm not the one you should be telling all this to." Catherine said softly, her eyebrows raised in suggestion. "Go to her. Tell her what you told me, tell her how you feel. See if there's a chance for you to have an us. I'm willing to bet there is." He was quiet for a minute, his eyes locked on the floor as he thought; when he looked at her again his eyes were full of determination. 

"You're right." He nodded. 

"I am." She said a little shocked that he had agreed so quickly, she thought she would have had to convince him a little more. 

"You are. I'm gonna go over there now." He smiled nervously and turned in the direction of the exit, speeding up his pace as he went. Catherine hurried after him. 

"That's great! What are you going to say?" She asked as they reached the door. 

"I don't know!" He replied, shaking a little from a combination of nerves and excitement. "I guess I'll just say how I feel." He shrugged.

"Good luck!" She called after him as he jumped into his car and sped out of the parking lot. She bit her lip and hoped for the best; this could be the start of something great for both of them. 

-

Grissom floored it the whole way to Sara's apartment, trying not to think about what he was about to do or what he was going to say to her, he just tried to focus on not losing his nerve to do it. He pulled in to the parking lot facing her building and shut off the engine. Taking one deep breath he got out of the car and made his way up the stairs to Sara's door. Another deep breath and he knocked on it; not too hard, if she was actually taking his advice and resting he didn't want to wake her. She was not, however, resting and he heard her shuffle around inside making her way to the door. His stomach felt like it had just hit the floor and his heart was pumping like he'd just jumped out of an aeroplane but he knew this was it; now or never, he wasn't backing out this time. 

"Grissom?" Her face wrinkled in confusion when she saw him standing in her doorway. 

"Hi." Was all he could manage. Emotion filled his eyes when he saw her, he couldn't control it, he just felt so glad to see her alive and well after what had just happened. All the fear he had relating to them melted away. All the words he had thought about saying dissolved. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked. He stepped forward, reaching out and pulling her into him, planting his lips on hers as he did so and kissed her passionately. Actions spoke louder than words right. 

At first Sara tensed up, unsure of what was going on but all that disappeared after a second and she returned the kiss. Bringing her arms up and wrapping them tightly around his neck. Eventually the need for oxygen became greater than their need for each other and they broke apart. 

"I...uh...what?" Sara said when she regained the power of speech. "What was that?" Not that she was complaining, just confused. 

"I...I had words planned...sort of and I was going to say them but then I was just so overwhelmed when I saw you that they never got to come out." He struggled to explain, suddenly afraid that she didn't want him anymore. But she had kissed him back. "I'm sorry." His face fell with disappointment and embarrassment. 

"Did you mean it?" She asked, lifting his face to look her in the eye. 

"Of course I meant it...I think I finally know what to do about this...about us." He said, fighting hard not to lose himself in the depths of her brown eyes. 

"And what's that?" She asked, she wasn't going to make this easy on him, not after all she'd been through. 

"I want to try! I want to make us work. Before I was scared, I was scared of having you in my life and getting close to you and then you leaving me because I didn't think I could handle that. So I ran; I pushed you away and hid from my feelings, I was a coward. But now, now the only thing I'm afraid of is not having a chance to have you in my life because you're already in my heart Sara. I love you." The words came out so naturally, making him wonder why he had ran away from them for so long. "I love you." He smiled. Sara's jaw dropped and she looked at him in confusion. 

"And if you are willing to forgive my pigheadish-ness then I would like nothing more than for us to see what we could have together. And I'm sure there are about a million other, better ways I could have said that to you but there you have it." His eyes sparkled with sincerity. 

"I...I love you too." Sara stuttered overwhelmed by his whole confession. They smiled at each other, relieved at having finally voiced their feelings for each other. Grissom pulled Sara in for another kiss, this time more tender and meaningful. They were so caught up in the moment they forget where they were until they were interrupted by Mrs Gettleman, Sara's neighbour, walking past tuting loudly at them. Remembering they were still in the doorway they broke apart blushing slightly and avoided the old lady's gaze. 

"I'm sorry." Sara had to laugh at the situation. "Would you like to come in and we can talk some more?" She offered, stepping aside. 

"I'd love to." Grissom smiled at her. Finally things were going right. 

-

The next night at work Sara was bombarded with people enquiring about her brush with death and gawking at the scratch on her neck. But she handled it all with great patience and a smile that could not be wiped from her face. Most people just assumed it was because she had survived being held hostage, most people were just glad to see her smiling again but Catherine knew that there was more than likely a reason for the smile. She knew she shouldn't pry, she knew she should just leave them be and let what happened between them stay between them; but she just couldn't help herself. Staying out of things just wasn't in her nature. 

Seeing Sara alone in the layout room Catherine seized her opportunity, cornering her by standing in the doorway, blocking the only exit. 

"Well you certainly look happy for someone who was held hostage at a mental hospital yesterday." The insinuations dripped from Catherine's words. Sara shrugged. 

"I guess surviving does that to you." Catherine gave a tight lipped smile, seeing how the brunette was playing her. 

"Uh huh." Catherine could play games too though. "And I suppose it would have nothing to do with a certain supervisor charging over to your apartment after your brush with death to finally proclaim his feelings for you." Catherine smirked. Sara looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming SUV. She stuttered but no words formed, just a collection of incoherent noises. 

"Uh huh." Catherine smiled broadly. "So I take it something happened between you then?" She was loving every minute of it. Sara gave her a glare that said she wasn't saying anything about it. "Ok, ok, I won't pry!" Catherine held her hands up in defence.

"Sorry, it's just I'm still not sure of what's going on – we're just taking things lslow right now and seeing how it works." Sara softened. 

"I understand." Catherine nodded. "I'm just glad to see you happy again. And if he ever fucks up again and makes you unhappy, you let me know and I'll sort him out." She smiled. Sara grinned back at her, enjoying the feeling of friendship they were sharing.

£You bet I will." They laughed. 


End file.
